True Beauty: Episodes 9-10 Open Thread

60 January 16, 2021January 16, 2021

by missvictrix

Our adorable couple has shared their feelings for each other, but that doesn’t mean it’s smooth sailing. Any semblance of normal dating is turned into True Beauty-style hijinks as they deal with everything from jealousy and insecurities, to competition from our second leads, to our heroine’s own parents joining us in the shipping wars.

EPISODES 9-10 WEECAP

We ended last week on Soo-ho’s heart-thumping confession and kiss — but the scene does not close there. When Joo-kyung pulls away, she hits a moment of adorable embarrassment and self-consciousness and takes off for the hills (literally). Soo-ho bolts after her, perplexed by her reaction. And though the necklace is finally given, and they part with the warm fuzzies, this scene is only the beginning of the conflicts these two will hit as a brand new couple.

Joo-kyung is understandably self-conscious about dating the hottest/smartest/most popular boy in school, and is afraid her past will come back to haunt her. As such, she spends most of their first few days of dating doing everything she can to hide, cover up, and disavow. It’s hilarious and a lot of fun, but their lack of openness does start to set up some unfortunate patterns for our couple, too.

I know this week is supposed to be about all the cuteness and complexities between Joo-kyung and Soo-ho, and while I love them together and accept them as the drama’s OTP — for me, this week was all for the second lead syndrome. There’s just something about a second lead hero telling himself he’s trying to get over his crush (while simultaneously doing everything he can to get closer to her) that’s hard not to fall for.

One reason I love Joo-kyung is because she always wears her heart on her sleeve — she opens up to Seo-joon because she genuinely sees him as a friend (and a friend she can accidentally drool on while sleeping). And between her sweetness and openness, and his desire to protect her, Seo-joon can’t seem to untangle himself — even though he knows he’s doomed.

Seo-joon pretends to be gruff and irritated with Joo-kyung, but it’s clear that it’s the only way he knows how to hold back his attraction (and he’s only hanging on by a thread). There’s no better example of this dynamic than their couple photoshoot: Seo-joon’s resistance to engaging with her during the shoot, and then the explosion of chemistry when he finally gives in, pretty much says it all.

The same can be said for the shoelace-tying scene: Joo-kyung treats him like a pal, Seo-joon balks but secretly swoons — and the SLS alarm goes into red alert. But the more Seo-joon falls for Joo-kyung, the less she seems to notice. And it hurts!

Seo-joon and Joo-kyung are around each other more and more (mostly thanks to the coffee shop job, and Joo-kyung avoiding her new boyfriend), and Seo-joon soon becomes her default sounding board. And so, Seo-joon not only learns about Joo-kyung’s hangups (viz., that she’s learned Soo-jin also likes Soo-ho), but he becomes the one to counsel her through.

The camaraderie he offers to Joo-kyung is all prickly cuteness, but when he’s with Soo-ho, it turns into pure competition. Whether it’s winning over Joo-kyung’s parents, making the better dumplings, or more straight-forward threats to take Joo-kyung from Soo-ho if he can’t protect her — these two are clashing more than ever.

Part of True Beauty’s charm, though, is that it takes a pretty common drama scenario (this love triangle and bromantic conflict) and turns it into hilarious fun — all without killing the feels. The dumpling-making scene, and it’s Iron Chef-level drama, is a great example of this, and I continue to enjoy the way True Beauty elevates its tropes with meta references and this free-handed zaniness.

Another thing that adds to the richness of this show is that it circles back on its world a lot. So, for instance, during the boys’ dumpling-making misadventures, details from previous moments of the drama return — like retrieving the big table from upstairs (why do I love this so much?), and the toenail-cutting apology session.

These details were great enough on their own, but returning to them with different characters and dynamics adds to the drama ten-fold. In fact, the world-building is so good, I don’t want to leave.

However, there’s one plot element we saw this week that I would like to leave, and that’s the direction we’re taking with Soo-jin. Dammit, I really liked her up until this point. Even though we were heading towards some friction over their shared affection for Soo-ho, I didn’t expect us to go into two-faced back-stabbing territory. It’s even more worrisome now that Soo-jin learned about Joo-kyung’s makeup-free face. She was awesome and supportive, but I’m honestly not sure how long that’s gonna last. Ugh.

The other huge turn of events is in the realm of our broken-up bromance — and this plot arc is much more welcomed. In fact, I love it. Hee-kyung discovers the theft of “Leo” and Se-yeon’s unreleased song, and this overlaps her (and Soo-ho’s father’s) world brilliantly with Soo-ho and Seo-joon’s tragic past.

Both boys react to this event with the same amount of fury, and while I’m hoping to see them reconcile over a common enemy, I do not know how I feel about that BOGO car accident.

In fact, while watching, I told myself it wouldn’t happen. They’re just distraught and running into the street without thinking: they won’t get hit. Wrong. Oh, maybe one will save the other from getting hit, thus healing the rift? Wrong. Instead, they both get hit, and fly through the air in slow motion. This intersection of gracefulness and violence is a bit odd, right? But then again, this is True Beauty, and the manhwa aesthetics here are so strong that I can see where this is coming from.

A final thought occurred to me as all these plot points hit their peak (and our cliffhanger): I’m reminded of the wonderful Shut Up Flower Boy Band. Something about the drama’s tone — with these friends torn apart by tragedy, and meaningful song compositions lingering between them — pulls me back to some of my favorite things in that drama. And there’s nothing I don’t like about that.

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1 mintrrb

January 16, 2021 at 2:23 PM

Joo Kyung needs to learn to... communicate! Why is she so oblivious to things around her and other people's feelings? She's starting to seem self centred ugh

Soo Jin. Ah, well, this day had to come. I just hope they can turn this around and give Soo Jin back her being the amazing person she has shown to be in this drama.

Seo Jun - why so cute? And why so less of you in this drama? Can we stop using second leads as devices just to push the main lead romance plot?

I still really like this drama. Don't know what to expect from the next episode. Eeks

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sal

January 16, 2021 at 3:28 PM

When you are that insecure about yourself you start to overthink and become afraid. Even though the people around you actually show that they care about you do not believe their kind action or word. A change need to happens inside yourself to see the worth other sees in you. Agree it in some ways is selfish but at the same time the reason for this is the pain the person have inside themself that they do not sees the other people. I hope to see her become more secure and confident in herself than she can be more confident in her relationships and sees people for who they are.

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happiness

January 16, 2021 at 3:57 PM

Yes to this, Joo-kyung still has a long way to go to accepting herself and her appearance, make-up may have given her more confidence but until she embraces her bare face (which I know is extremely hard considering she was bullied for exactly that) she won’t stop feeling insecure and comparing herself to others which has a negative effect on her relationship with others, she needs to fix the relationship with herself which I hope to see as the episodes progress

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skelly

January 17, 2021 at 7:16 PM

YES. Makeup is a convenient armor for JK but underneath she is still be fearful, bullied girl with low self-esteem from the horrible experiences at her former school and the often infuriating heartlessness of her family. Her mother, especially - ugh, as a mom myself I just sit on the couch and throw shade on her, lol.
I was bullied, too, in school, and even with a supportive family it takes years to build up your confidence and self-esteem, even in the best of circumstances, so I cut JK a lot of slack.

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brian

January 17, 2021 at 11:36 PM

I've always written that the endgame is not who ends up with Ju Kyung, but that she finds herself happy in her own skin and that she has friends that like her for who she is and not what she looks like. As a bonus, I'd also would like her to get her revenge on her bully from the old school.

mintrrb

January 16, 2021 at 10:02 PM

I hope that is the case here. Let's see how her character makes progress in the later episodes.

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Eskimo Friend

January 16, 2021 at 6:53 PM

I personally feel that Joo Kyung is facing her current conundrum because she values both love and friendship. She's not willing to give up neither Soo Jin nor Suho, hence she rather stays in the limbo for now since she has no answer/solution.

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2 PatLafougere

January 16, 2021 at 2:24 PM

I'm disappointed about Soo Jin's eroding character as well. If they can't stay friends comfortably, so be it, but why do they have to become enemies? Soo Jin is holding all the cards as well, thanks to Joo Kyung's confidences.

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skelly

January 17, 2021 at 7:19 PM

I see two flaws in the show right now - one of them is the lack of set-up for Soo Jin becoming a frenemy and the other is the Sedan of Semi-Doom at the end. My daughter and I had been laughing and enjoying the episode and then we turned to each other at the end and I said,
'welp that got dark fast'

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3 Kurama

January 16, 2021 at 2:39 PM

Joo Kyung's insecurity is making things complicated for nothing. She doesn't talk to Suho and assume the worse from anyone. I understand she still scared from what happened in the past but Suho proved her a lot of times that he's here for her.

Soo Jin's story is sad and it's frustrating to see her becoming manipulative.

Seo Jun is cute. Poor him, he's Joo Kyung's confident and must hide his feelings for her.

The car accident looked pretty ridiculous, how Suho could fly high like this... but if we can get bromance instead of fight between the male leads, it's a good thing.

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4 LookieLooWho

January 16, 2021 at 2:49 PM

Does anyone know how closely the drama is following the source material?

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happiness

January 16, 2021 at 4:03 PM

I’ve only read a few chapters of the webtoon but from what I’ve heard the drama is pretty different from the webtoon, for one I remember Soo-jin was manipulative and using Joo-kyung from the start which is why I’m disappointed in the drama because I didn’t think the drama would head in that direction, I would rather have seen Soojin’s rivalry/jealousy with Suho instead because that would’ve been more interesting than Soojin’s sudden interest in Suho romantically

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Zestileigh

January 16, 2021 at 4:19 PM

ESPECIALLY because they made her such a rad friend. I don't mind the emotional conflict of "love or friendship" but they could've set that up without blackening Sujin's character. :(

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Zestileigh

January 16, 2021 at 4:18 PM

Hmm... without spoiling later developments...

Within the time frame of high school, SeoJoon definitely falls for JooKyung early on, but he actually doesn't ever try to act on it or get into conflict with Suho about it. He just is bffs with Jookyung and has puppy dog eyes for her.

Sujin is only ever two faced. My favorite change from the manhwa was how awesome a friend she was. I was worried her character would develop more like the manhua version. :(

The family stories are made up whole cloth. The only thing close is that the sister had like a two chapter storyline with the teacher (Jookyung thinks the teach likes her, till he asks for her sister's number. The sister goes on a date with him, but he chews too loudly and grosses her out. Fin). The brother and mom pop into frame to be jerks to Jookyung, and the sister is supportive but often drinking. She's on good terms with Seojoon bc he used to be a trainee in her company

The idol trainee friend dying is in the manhua, but it didn't stem from a conspiracy. Iirc, it was online bullying. Still led to a rift in Suho and Seojoon's friendship, which was repaired after the car accident (in the manhwu Suho pushes Jookyung out of the way. Seojoon only shows up bc Jookyung calls him)

Suho's dad is a famous actor and lives in Japan. He doesn't own the production company the sister works for.

The middle school bullies are more like cameo appearances than antagonists.

Suho and Jookyung never officially call themselves bf/gf and there's no drama about hiding their relationship from anyone.

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LookieLooWho

January 16, 2021 at 8:29 PM

@bangwon and @zestileigh, it seemed like the drama was just inspired by the manhwa. I glimpsed over a recent episode of the webtoon and noticed a different OTP than the drama and was curious about how changes.

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Zestileigh

January 16, 2021 at 8:42 PM

Hard to say who the OTP will be since the manhua is ongoing. I'm enjoying the drama well enough, but I prefer the low-key slice-of-life manhua.

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LookieLooWho

January 16, 2021 at 10:36 PM

So right after writing my post, I read the most recent episode and was like, "Well, there goes my understanding of things." This is the genius and frustration with a drama based on an ongoing series, there's no way to tell how it'll end.

mintrrb

January 16, 2021 at 10:01 PM

Not really. Joo Kyung dated Seo Jun in the webtoon and Soo Jin had less role in the webtoon as well - she has a much better character here (eroding now but hopefully she won't be dismissed like a losing antagonist in the end because she didn't get the boy). There are some aspects that are much better in the drama.

I wish she dated Seo Jun in the drama as well lol

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LookieLooWho

January 16, 2021 at 10:39 PM

Now I'm just seeing her fading away like in W: Two Worlds.

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skelly

January 17, 2021 at 7:22 PM

I binge-read the webtoon and it is quite different from the drama. Frankly, I like the drama a lot better, the webtoon is as light and superficial as an application of BB cream. The constant obsession about the way people look gets tiresome. From the very start, with the attempted suicide, the drama dealt with stronger and more important issues.

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LookieLooWho

January 18, 2021 at 4:12 PM

Thanks, I wanted to read the webtoon but was concerned it would taint the way I watch the drama. I enjoy the drama immensely and want to keep it that way.

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Portia aka Dr D

February 8, 2023 at 9:11 PM

I enjoyed the drama as well. I think it well-handled difficult topics. I also feel that it had some of the best laugh-out-loud moments, in particular the episode with the crouching tiger and the hidden dragon.

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5 Lily left the valley

January 16, 2021 at 3:20 PM

I've not had time to start watching this, and have been reading the caps when I can. Now a Vehicle of Doom enters the scene! I can't put this off much longer. I'm always a sucker for the VoD trope.

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skelly

January 17, 2021 at 7:25 PM

I called it the Sedan of Semi-Doom, because no one actually gets killed and the vehicle is somewhat fuel efficient. ;-)

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koreanoona

January 18, 2021 at 7:42 AM

hahahha. 'Sedan of Semi-Doom'. I'm ROTFLOL!

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Lily left the valley

January 23, 2021 at 3:32 AM

Hrm....it ate my reply? Maybe because I tried to link to an old comment thread here?

Anyhoo...I was asking if Sedan of Semi-Doom is a once removed cousin of Sad Truck of Doom.

(For anyone that wasn't around for that thread, go to Legend of the Blue Sea recap for Ep. 5 and scroll down to @jessanno 's #11 comment pertaining to amnesia and Cars of Doom. So much Doom discussion unfurled. Your response reminded me of that thread because I pondered if the LF was struck by a CoD because a ToD isn't the right fit for a VoD role if the driver is a chaebol.)

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6 Zestileigh

January 16, 2021 at 4:24 PM

I really love that Jookyung, who has good friends for the first time since middle school, is wrestling with the idea of potentially losing one of those friendships. This is absolute a relatable concept.

I hate that it comes at the cost of Sujin's character. She was so steadfast and cool. Now she's manipulative and scary. Sad.

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7 Jezz

January 16, 2021 at 4:30 PM

Seo-joon and Joo-kyung's coffeeshop job stint reminded me on Coffee Prince era.

Ouch... I say that was before She Would Never Know premiere week. I love both of the shows, I prepare for the excitement of the make-up themed K-dramas' battle between True Beauty (aftermath of two ML characters' car accident) and She Would Never Know which both based on web materials. It'll take three week battle for the former's final three weeks (Eps 11-16) and the latter's first three weeks (Eps 1-6). It reminded me on last year's classic musical-themed drama battle between DYLB and DoSolLa which felt pain-stalking to others.

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8 sal

January 16, 2021 at 5:21 PM

I find this drama actually talk about more deeper themes than your regular high school drama. Like insecurity, beauty, depression, self worth, friendship, self blame, communication. I mean every character struggling with this things and we sees how they dealing with this struggles. So even though people say it is cliche to me it have a very important message to tell regarding it themes it explore.

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9 Kay

January 16, 2021 at 8:05 PM

This drama has me LOL-ing more than i anticipated.
I don't have major issues with the plot or characters, as this drama has made it is obvious it is supposed to be fun !

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10 WishfulToki

January 16, 2021 at 8:31 PM

While I don't like Ju-kyung's mother very much, she gave the key to solve everyone's problems: don't keep things bottled up... communicate!

There are several relationships in this show: Bratty Brother and Go-woon (unrequited puppy crush), Ju-kyung and Suho (high school love), Teacher and Unni (mature adult love). It's clear that the ones that are ready for a serious relationship are Teacher and Unni. He was sulking because she didn't tell him about her life, and more importantly: he told her how he felt. She immediately started telling him about everything, including her menu! Now that Unni is (most likely) unemployed she will need his emotional support, as well as his wise words.

I can't wait to see Bratty Brother's face when he finds out he's been acting petty to his crush's brother. 😂😂 He heard Go-woon call Seo-joon "oppa" and mistook it for "boyfriend" (instead of "older brother"). I was tickled pink that I understood a joke which was not captured by subtitles. It's my reward for watching lots of kdramas I guess.

I'm not going to talk about Seo-joon because I'm nursing the wound caused by him having to be the confidant of his crush. Not fair. He hardly has any screen time and that's what we get? The Battle of the Dumplings was fun though.

Thanks for the weecap @missvictrix!

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skelly

January 17, 2021 at 7:28 PM

I have one question about the mom: did she ever read the suicide note from JK? How come, if she did, she never mentioned it? Frankly, if one of my daughters had sent me that text a LOT of things would have changed, stat.

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Blue (@mayhemf)

January 18, 2021 at 2:59 PM

It's one of my biggest gripes in this show. I hated the earlier episode because they just brushed past a possible suicide attempt. I am hoping the show will explain it (unsent text/vm or something else). Until that point its impossible for me to like her mother.
She did show some signs of affection when JK mentioned that she doesn't tell her mom things because of such and such reasons. She seemed to be clearly affected by it.

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WishfulToki

January 18, 2021 at 5:26 PM

Same, I can’t like the mom. She also exhibits a particular trait I’ve noticed in kdramas: favouring the son. Ju-kyung wailed that she’s the only one helping her mom with chores and listening to her money worries, but mom gladly pays for bratty brother to have a private tutor. Of course his grades will be better! On top of everything Ju-kyung is the middle child, who (so I’ve heard) often seems to be overlooked.

I try to cut the mom some slack, because apparently she’s considered ugly too (?), and the ahjumma neighbors never fail to gloat that Ju-kyung doesn’t have good grades or looks. But I think the mom deflects that criticism onto Ju-kyung. So yeah, that cell phone needs to make a reappearance and give the mom a wake-up call. I think it broke when she got angry at the dad and threw it in episode 1.

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Shitty Healing Hunter

January 25, 2021 at 11:22 PM

The mum also offered Ju-kyung private tuition if she wanted it. She wants her to have better grades.

WishfulToki

January 26, 2021 at 4:12 PM

@shittyhunter thanks, I must have missed that.

11 vv

January 17, 2021 at 12:22 AM

For some reason whenever I think about how oblivious Jookyung is, I keep remembering the antagonist in Gangnam Beauty. Sure, in that, the girl was completely aware of everything and she was pretending to be nice, whereas here, the girl is actually unaware. But my point is that, in Gangnam Beauty, even when no character said anything and everyone treated her well, just like people do to Jookyung in True beauty, viewers kept calling her a two-faced b*tch, but here people call it cute or adorable. So, when actually looking at it from another point of view, both characters can be viewed the same irl, if one did not know that Jookyung did not have any insecurity, it could seem as if she too is pretending to be nice....

And wow! I seem to have written my own drama now ;D

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WishfulToki

January 17, 2021 at 5:13 PM

I think it’s down to her intention- Ju-kyung is innocent and has no evil intention. However, it’s an interesting thought... Ju-kyung’s insecurity is hurting the guys as well as herself. She’s walking a fine line (for my taste) between being oblivious and obliviously cruel.

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vv

January 17, 2021 at 9:49 PM

Yes, but my point was that, as viewers we know that she has no evil intentions. But maybe from another point of view, let's say the classmates, we wouldn't have known and she would have looked the same as the antagonist in Gangnam beauty.

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Kurama

January 18, 2021 at 1:24 AM

I don't agree.

Jung-kyung doesn't want to be famous, she just want to be not bullied and to have a normal life. Her cluelessness can hurt people around her, but it's not intentional.

Hyun Soo-A wanted the attention of every guy, she was seducing them enough for them to be interested and then she friendzoned them but letting them thinking there was still a possibility. She was manipulative.

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vv

January 18, 2021 at 2:51 AM

I agree with you..but you did not get what I am saying...all I'm saying is that as viewers we know all that... But in real life, when put together, they can be seen as the same person if we see them from a distance without knowing all that. JK hurting people is unintentional from a viewers pov, but to others it can be seen as intentional.

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Joe

January 18, 2021 at 5:31 AM

How can they be seen as the same person? You're not making any sense at all.

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vv

January 18, 2021 at 6:25 AM

Everyone has a different POV and sense of understanding.. if you do not see it, then that is alright and you are free to ignore the comment. I just stated what I felt, just like others.
But since you did ask, I'll explain it to you. To put it simply, I was not talking about it from a viewer's POV but rather a situation in real life. Personally, if I saw someone that oblivious especially at the age of 18, I personally would think that the person is putting on a show, especially if I didn't know that person's past. Which is where i'm comparing to the girl in Gangnam Beauty, coz from the get go, we were made to think that she has bad vibes and thus, putting on a show.
If I still did not make it clear, then please feel free to ignore the comment coz I am not trying to negatively portray anyone here, I was just thinking of some sort of alternative reality, which I did mention when I said "And wow! I seem to have written my own drama now ;D" in my initial comment.

12 Cindy Mahri

January 17, 2021 at 3:52 AM

That toenail-cutting scene was downright hilarious! And the boys' cringing after saying "I love yous" is just gold. Hahaha!

Was sure I was Team Suho when this started but now I think I'm moving to Team Seo Joon. There's just too much drama over at Suho's ship! With SJ, JK gets an adorably supportive confidant/oppa, plus everyone's good with it. Alas. It's just not meant to be. *sigh* This will be another SLS indeed. So soon after we got our hearts broken with Han Ji Pyeong. Haha

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sailorgirl

January 19, 2021 at 7:32 PM

@cindymahri77 Too soon? #MyHeartStillBreaksforJiPyeong

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Cindy Mahri

January 20, 2021 at 2:35 AM

Too soon. Hahahuhu

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13 RevSparklyAndroid

January 17, 2021 at 9:47 AM

Ah, I love this drama. That scene with the table toboggan slide down the stairs made me howl with laughter. Soo-ho under the table with his butt sticking out was another. This show just mixes in so much insanity with the real stuff the kids have to deal with. I keep reminding myself that they are high school kids when it comes to scenes like Joo-kyung feeling so terrified her newly-found friends will hate her guts for dating the school's number one crush. It's totally relatable at that age with what she experienced in the past.

Then there's Unnie and the teacher. I love how their relationship is developing despite them being total opposites. Even when they hug, she is not your typical female.

I couldn't believe the BOGO (thanks for that, @missvictrix) scene at the end. Like you, I kept thinking, 'Where are you going with this, Drama?' Especially as Soo-ho managed to avoid the first car. I have never been so glad for previews in all my years of watching dramas!

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14 Miss_elly

January 17, 2021 at 12:51 PM

I am really disappointed where they are taking soo-jin. The two faced backstabbing is heart breaking. The part where she picked up the phone pissed me off. even more so when suho neglected to mention it. They were such good friends, and even Joo kyung girl crush. I hope they can leave this bit behind and have an honest conversation and either work through it or end the friendship.
I also annoyed by Su ho. The fact that he gets jealous over the friendship with seo hun, and tells her that men and woman cant be friends,yet he has that friendship with Soo Jin. I am glad Joo kyung kinda called him on it.

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sal

January 18, 2021 at 3:55 AM

I do not think Suho insecurity comes from nowhere. I mean the girl was ignoring him and shut him down when he wanted to talk to her. Then she got closer to the guy that have openly said he likes his girlfriend and even said he could steal her away from Suho. So of curse he got scared she would leave him for Seo Joon. Beside he and Seo Joon have complicated relationship, so that also add to it. I think most people would be hurt being in his shoes. Had she been better at communication than things would not have escalated this fast. I mean he was ready to have a conversation to clear the air but she never let them have it. So it ended with this confrontation that was not constructive conversation as both was heated up. They both have something to learn about communication though.

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15 Mike

January 17, 2021 at 1:03 PM

Some series you groan every time they trot out another overused K-drama trope. This series you cheer when another overused K-drama trope pops up, as though we're all in on the gag. Like "YESSS! Car of doom shows up!"

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koreanoona

January 18, 2021 at 7:38 AM

totally agree with you. i love how they turn all the common tropes into something else.

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16 brian

January 17, 2021 at 11:34 PM

I think I continue to watch this show because up until the last episode, it was so ridiculously silly, and never really took itself that seriously. It was all about Ju Kyung's clumsiness and inability to read people that made the show entertaining and funny. Also, her older sister was just as corny as well as her parents.

This was the show I needed right now to distract me from the ever growing worry about the pandemic. I hope that things don't get too nasty in episodes 11 and 12, because I enjoy the goofy parts of the show, and the love triangle that continues forever in spite of everything. Still, I'll watch them anyway just for the distraction.

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17 koreanoona

January 18, 2021 at 7:37 AM

i really like where this drama is headed. i can see the webtoon aesthetics peppered in the show which is a nice touch (some people found the last scene of Suho flying into the air overdramatic, but i actually imagine that's how it might be drawn in a comic). The characters are pretty well-fleshed out: you have the female lead who was bullied and has low self-esteem and never really had proper friends until now. i totally get why she is torn between keeping a friend (Soojin) and making her relationship public. it's a real dilemma and I get why she is upset with Suho. On the other hand, i also get Suho's POV (even though he comes across as an assy, over-controlling BF). he knows Seojin likes his girl, so he wants to keep them away from each other. He has always been aloof (self-protection mechanism from growing up without an adult and keeping himself from being hurt?) so to him, he probably finds it difficult to understand Ju Kyung. Both have valid perspectives, and it would take honest communication to sort it out. We have to remember these two are high-schoolers and its their first relationship, and it's gonna take time for them to learn how to be honest with each other. I actually think they are doing better than all the parents in the show!

What i hope to see in the remaining episodes is how they handle the explanation of se yeon's suicide sensitively, the boys coming friends again, soojin coming to her senses and returning to being a great person and friend, and most of all ju kyung learning to be comfortable in her own skin, literally.

Show, don't disappoint us!

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18 Blue (@mayhemf)

January 18, 2021 at 3:05 PM

BOGO car accident - LMAO!! Seriously!

Seo-joon is making it increasingly difficult to not succumb to SLS!
Why is he so perfect! I love how he is struggling with his feelings yet he is being a decent friend to her... can HIY be a lead soon please?

I am so invested in our Madonna eyebrow teacher and Unni's romance! I love them!

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Don’t mess with my tempo

January 18, 2021 at 8:44 PM

I’m loving HIY. His facial expressions and just overall acting is way more dynamic than CEW (no hate but his Suho is the same as his character in the Gangnam ID drama). There is something I’ve noticed and I’m wondering if it’s just me or if it’s a quality in his voice, but Suho sounds like he’s speaking in voiceover. He’s the only character in the show that sounds like that for me.

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19 Majong Sofine

January 19, 2021 at 10:25 PM

Its enevitable that there will be some amount of this in any love triangle but when it goes to far its just cringy.
What I am talking about is the double edged sword of womens innocence. Its obviously good on one account but when it makes a woman oblivious to A: another mans pursuit of her and B: how it hurts her boyfriend over and over especially when he verbalizes to her that he doesnt like it it becomes ignorance at best and stupidity at worst.
When the FL deals with this by zero communication, running off when conversation and understanding is needed it is letting the lifeblood of your relationship pour out on the ground.
Even if she is misunderstanding what she is seeing and actually being manipulated by the other girl, the boyfriend has no way of knowing and we absolutly know from his attitude and behaviour that he would safeguard her feelings and be extra careful for her if she would just speak.

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20 Cutie Chibi

January 24, 2021 at 12:50 PM

Ahhhh i live for the chaoticness that always happen at jookyungs house whenever one or both of the male leads come☺️ In all honest, soojin’s character seems a bit inconsistent? She was so nice to jookyung, we all liked her and now she just turns manipulative and cunning asf after finding out suho and jookyung dating. Can jealousy really change people that much? If so i don’t wanna be in love 🦵

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21 theTINYL

January 26, 2021 at 9:27 AM

Not sure how this happened, but I just realized that I'm quickly becoming a fan of the scenes where ML & SML (who themselves have great chemistry) visit FL's home (where she lives with family) and duke it out trying to impress her Parents/Grandma/Sibling/etc. This happened in Start-Up, too, with the male leads and it was so great. True Beauty's dumpling showdown will forever live in my heart as a good time had by all (except SH & SJ).

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22 zalmunaw

April 10, 2021 at 12:42 PM

Came here, made an account just to vent my anger and frustration over these two episodes, ugh. I just can't with JK and what this show did to SJ. I don't know what happens in the manhwa or how much the drama has veered of the original plot, I can only speak of this show.

I started off loving JK's character, she's soo adorable and I love her confidence despite having been bullied all her life. She's not a complete doormat and she's kind of sassy. However, her wanting to hide the relationship is just plain dumb and her reactions were over-the-top.

I was especially angry when she got mad at SH towards the end of ep10- like wth? The fact that she feels he doesn't have a right to be mad himself, girl where your brain at? You've been hanging out with SJe a lot more than your own bf, everyone thinks you are dating, you've took "steamy/sexy" pictures with him, eventhough it was for money, you don't want people to know your relationship with SH... AND YOU DON"T UNDERSTAND WHY HE'S MAD??

Literally, he hasn't done anything with SJ, you know that they've been friends for a decade and their families meet often but you're the mad one? Ughhh. How the heck did SJ's character turned 180 degree in a minute? Hope she doesn't get too nasty.

Second-lead syndrome is strong. SJeXJK have more chemistry together and they're relationship is just a lot more cute and natural. I can see them as the forever couple. I started off disliking SJe but the more I see him on screen, the more I adore his character.

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zalmunaw

April 10, 2021 at 12:47 PM

End rant. I'd probably feel differently after I've cooled down.

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